Oprindelsen til valmuerne på remembrance day skal findes i et digt af den canadiske læge og soldat John McCrae der skrev digtet ved Ypres i maj 1915 efter at have begravet en nær ven. Det er værd at læse:
Poppies betyder valmuer
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Mere om digtets oprindelse kan findes på: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields og mange andre steder.
Med venlig hilsen Lars Kjøller
